“I was very difficult. I have never run a race in such difficult conditions ever before in my life. But I tried all I could. I gave it all I could. I did not want to collapse and have people pick up. I made the decision to drop out,” said the Olympics and world 10,000m champion.

“I thought I was okay when I dropped out, but from what people tell me, I was not conscious when I stopped running. I do not know what might have happened if I had continued to run,” he said.

“I miscalculated the laps and thought that I had reached the finish when I strode clear. I used all the little reserve energy I had in my body to do that,” he said.

Many more quotes from Bekele about the race there. Sounds like a “what could go wrong did go wrong” kind of day for him.